TANGENT - OURO Collective

OURO is an eclectic, Vancouver-based dance collective that uses hip-hop, waacking, breaking, popping and contemporary dance as the foundation for the creation and production of new work.

Through their process of self-questioning and dialogue, OURO translates, through movement, private and public behaviour of self-absorption and extreme individualism. The work features and at times amalgamates, the collective’s diverse genres and looks at the branching idea of individualism in the age of over-stimulation. Narcissism, isolation, selfishness are all explored through the lens of today's distracted mind keeping us from the true issues within ourselves and the world around us.

As individual artists coming from diverse cultural and dance backgrounds, OURO sees collaboration as a catalyst for dialogue, creative innovation, and community building. United around the common goal of pushing the boundaries of how street dance-based works are created and presented, OURO is dedicated to creating performances that explore the full range of possibilities and identities the group represents.

The collective made its official start in September of 2014 and since then they have performed at Dancing on the Edge, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Dance Allsorts, New Works at Night, Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, CypherFest International Street Dance Festival in the Yukon and at Machida Shimin Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

The name OURO comes from the Greek word ouroboros, which often symbolizes self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself. In the context of the arts, this is the ultimate goal: infinite creation.